


A Master Class in Sword Handling

by CianTheMighty



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Childhood Friends, Established Relationship, Friends With Benefits, Friends to Lovers, Frottage, Hand Jobs, M/M, Making Out, Masturbation, Mentioned Blue Lions Students (Fire Emblem), Mutual Masturbation, Neck Kissing, Relationship Negotiation, Rough Sex, bisexual sylvain, sex as stress relief, slight body worship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-21
Updated: 2019-10-18
Packaged: 2020-10-25 14:50:47
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 11,009
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20726009
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CianTheMighty/pseuds/CianTheMighty
Summary: Felix tried to remember exactly how things had gone so wrong. He remembered that Sylvain had been teasing him... but that did nothing to explain how such an unusual relationship had begun. Mostly he just never thought that Sylvain would have it in him.





	1. Chapter 1

Felix remembered that he had intended to visit the dining hall with Sylvain, Ingrid, and a handful of others from the old Blue Lion house that night. Following that he and Sylvain were going to do the rounds of their favorite taverns. His training had taken a little longer than intended after he was forced to help Mercedes in the kitchen, following some bizarre accident. So when Sylvain came to collect him from the training grounds he was still only halfway through his normal routine.

Felix had expected Sylvain to complain some. Or a lot. He didn't, thank the Goddess. On the contrary, he actually agreed to stay and wait for Felix to finish the last of his sets before they set out for the night. He had an odd look on his face as he watched Felix swing his sword, but Felix ignored him. He assumed that Sylvain was bored.

Sylvain chuckled. "You really do have a one track mind."

"Hm?" Felix paused a moment to glance at Sylvain. There was nothing mocking or demeaning in his expression so he resumed swinging without comment. "What are you on about this time?"

"Nothing important," Sylvain replied. "I was just thinking... you really only ever think about your training. That's all you ever talk about, even when we go out drinking. It's all you ever do for fun."

"Don't be ridiculous," Felix demurred. "I also think about fighting. There's no sense in developing the skills if you can't even get out there and use them."

"You know what I mean."

"I also think about who else at Garreg Mach might make for a half decent opponent. Are you going somewhere with this?"

"Not really," Sylvain replied. He stretched both arms out over his head and yawned. "Just trying to keep my mind busy while you finish up your nine millionth set."

Felix said nothing for a while as he swung his training sword. He had a feeling he had heard this from Sylvain in the past. It was an argument they had from time to time that always went nowhere. He decided to pre-empt the matter entirely. "You're trying to make a point. You think that I train too hard and that I never do anything for fun. You want me to come with you this time when you duck out on our tavern crawl to hit on women. I'll pass on that, if it's all the same you to, Sylvain."

"Look, Felix, that's not what I... okay." Sylvain shook his head. "I wasn't trying to make some kind of point. I promise. Your dedication to the craft is kind of extreme, sure, but at the same time it's actually kind of admirable and impressive. We rely on your strength, so you do you, you know?"

Felix rolled his eyes. "How thoughtful of you."

"Still, though. How do you not just have a massive boner all the time?"

Felix fell out of step with his swinging and stumbled a little. That comment honestly threw him. He turned on the spot to stare at Sylvain. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me," Sylvain said slyly. "Hard exercise increases the blood flow, right? To all of your parts, even little Felix. So how the heck do you not just have a massive boner all the time?"

Felix bit back his initial remarks and glowered at Sylvain. It occurred to him in an instant that Sylvain was probably playing some kind of game with him. He wanted to see the taciturn swordsman stumble. To the Hells with him, then. Two could play at that game. "You're not wrong about that," Felix said nonchalantly, congratulating himself on the ease with which he said it.

"Excuse me?" Sylvain was grinning broadly. "Wow. Okay. I didn't think you would just admit that so readily. So are you packing one right now? You've been swinging that sword for a while now."

"Of course not," Felix snapped, pinking slightly. This was strange. He had called Sylvain's bluff but Sylvain hadn't budged. "I just get a little worked up from time to time. Nothing so serious as what you said."

"I think I get it." Sylvain was nodding now. "Like how worked up? In terms of nights spent with fetching ladies. How many would it take to burn off all that energy?"

"Enough that nights spent with women couldn't possibly be sufficient," Felix replied without thinking.

Sylvain gaped. "Dude. You did NOT just admit that."

Felix felt himself go pink around the ears as the implications set in. That had been quite the slip. Had he erred that badly in battle he would have been skewered on an Agarthan lance ages ago. "Don't act like it's some kind of surprise to you, Sylvain. You're a man, same as me. You know how it goes."

"True enough," Sylvain replied. "I'm not going to act like some kind of blushing innocent in that regard. But you do realize that you're never going to be rid of the comments about polishing your sword for the rest of your life, right?"

"If you utter one word of this to Ingrid or any of the others..."

"You can always just tell them about my habits,: Sylvain offered. "I do it too, so that's mutually assured destruction. Though... that would hardly come as a surprise to some of them considering my reputation, so that can hardly be useful leverage. Darn... what to do..."

"I'll tell you what, Sylvain. You can pay me back by not talking about this anymore." Felix returned to his shadow fencing, focusing on the task with a singular intensity. He had a familiar feeling of warmth pooling in his lower abdomen, and he needed to work out that energy as quickly as possible before it started to build. "Or ever again in the future," he added gruffly. "That would be better for the both of us."

"Oh yeah?" Sylvain gave him a strange look. "What the heck does that mean? Are you seriously... oh! Are you getting worked up right now? Just by talking about it in passing? Good Goddess, Felix. That is serious. Heh. I'd better clear out of here before all my talk of fetching ladies has you popping wood. Swinging that sword around, you might lop off the tip by mistake."

"Please stop talking about it," Felix groaned, humiliated by the hole he'd dug himself into. "It's embarrassing enough as it is without you cracking japes. I don't have the energy to play games with you."

"Fair enough," Sylvain replied. His expression suddenly grew very serious. "Hey, uh... I'll keep everything you told me today in mind, yeah? I just talk about the ladies all the time because it's fun, but if it really bothers you in that way then I can keep it to a minimum in future."

"Do what you want," Felix replied, punctuating his words with vicious sword swipes.

"What do you want me to tell the others?" Sylvain wondered. "You could always just meet us in town once you finish up here."

"I'll do that," Felix replied. "Go have dinner with Ingrid. Flirt with women. I'll catch you up. Say hello to Annette for me if she's finished picking the dill weed out of Mercedes' clothes."

"I don't know what that means."

"It's not important."

"Right. Have a nice, erm, training then." Sylvain gave him an awkward smile and a wave before he left the training grounds through the main doors. Felix let out a sigh of relief. He was finally left alone to his training.

Something about the shadow fencing training was not as satisfying as it should have been. He decided to switch to training dummies... but he had to stop when he snapped a training sword across a dummy's shoulders. One of the shards struck him on the brow, cutting deep enough to draw blood. It took longer than he would have liked to dig the fragment out... but once he had, he used what little white magic he knew to deal with the cut. He scrutinized his face in the mirror. Good as new.

"Damn it."

He decided to call it quits for training, and set out for the town. He got blind drunk that night, and he might have kissed Ingrid, though he didn't remember doing it.

She didn't take it personally.


	2. Chapter 2

Felix had thought that Sylvain's odd curiosity about his personal affairs would be sated after their conversation from the night before. Unfortunately... Sylvain was not so easily deterred. Felix could tell that he still had questions burning at the back of his mind - questions that he was content to never hear. Sylvain managed to contain himself for three more days before approaching Felix once again in the training grounds an hour before their tavern crawl.

"Hey, Felix," Sylvain began. "I was thinking about our conversation from a couple of night ago, and-"

Felix saw it coming from a mile off. He turned on the spot and penetrated the paladin's relaxed guard in a single movement. He held the tip of a brand new training sword one centimeter from Sylvain's Adam's apple. "I swear to all of the gods, Sylvain. If you breathe one word of that conversation to anyone in the world including me...!"

"Oh, come on!" Sylvain snapped. His anger was a surprise to Felix. Sylvain even slapped the blade out of the way, which Felix allowed to happen. "I am trying to respect your feelings, man, but there has GOT to be a limit on being unapproachable!"

"Unapproachable?" Felix shook his head. Sylvain was being ridiculous, but this too was something he had heard before. "Unapproachable is fine, Sylvain. I know what you all think of me. Your opinions are your prerogative and they make no difference to me, so you can keep them to yourself and save time."

"Exactly!" Sylvain insisted. "This is exactly why you should take every opportunity to make yourself that little bit friendlier in the eyes of others. Seriously. You have no idea how easy things get when people start to see you even the least bit favorably. Things would be so much easier for you and the rest of us if you would just-"

"I'm not buying it, Sylvain," Felix snapped. "I get what you're saying, and it if were any other circumstance I might even agree with you. I just don't see how talking about THAT is supposed to change things for me in that arena."

"Well, uh, it won't," Sylvain admitted, deflating visibly. "Not even a little."

"Then why are you being so-?"

"That was actually something that I wanted," Sylvain replied. "Totally selfish on my part, which is bad... but I've actually been thinking about this for a while now."

"Whatever you're thinking, state it plain," Felix replied. "I don't have time to listen to your hemming and hawing."

"Straight to the point, eh?" Sylvain chuckled. "I guess that suits you. I was actually thinking that I've, uh, never actually had the chance to talk with someone... else. Someone who does it too. You know what I mean."

"Oh."

"I mean... it happens so rarely for me that this kind of seems like a golden opportunity," Sylvain replied. "You know my secret, and I know yours. Isn't that kind of crazy exciting? We should get together and share tips."

Felix grimaced. "Tips?"

"Okay. That was not the best phrasing. But you know what I mean, right? Tricks. Techniques. Advice, even. What works and what doesn't. What do you say? I think it could work out really well for the both of us."

Felix was shaking his head. "Techniques, huh? I've never thought about it like that. You make it sounds like we'd be taking sword handling lessons."

Sylvain brightened. "Yeah, sure. Just like sword handling lessons. It won't be anything too serious. Just hole up in either of our rooms with some drink and have a conversation. It'll be real casual, and informative! Maybe I could teach you something about handling your sword."

Felix snorted. "In all likelihood, it would be me teaching you something." He grimaced when he realized exactly what he was saying, and Sylvain's ears went pink. "I guess we can do that. Even if all that stuff you're talking about falls through we can still have a good laugh. But we shouldn't talk about it anymore. Not here. When do you want to meet up?"

"How about we do it instead of the tavern crawl?" Sylvain suggusted.

"You want to give up on the tavern crawl? Shit, Sylvain..."

"Not every tavern crawl," Sylvain said hastily. "Just this one time. Tonight, even."

"All right. You've sold me. Come by my room after dinner, and make sure that nobody sees you."


	3. Chapter 3

Sylvain arrived on schedule, shouldering his way into Felix's room at the dormitory and closing the door quickly so that nobody saw. It was Felix who was late to their planned meeting, having gotten caught up in his training once again after shattering a wooden dummy. Sylvain only teased him about it briefly. Felix could tell from the way he was sitting that they were both equally nervous about doing this. "So," Felix began. He was feeling oddly emboldened by Sylvain's apprehension. He decided to busy his hands putting his training equipment away. Sylvain sat on the bed like a lump and watched Felix work. "How do you want to approach this?" Felix wondered.

“I'm not sure, to be honest,” Sylvain replied. “It's not that easy to just... open up about this stuff. Even talking about it before, half of what we said out loud was couched with insinuation and racy metaphors."

"That can be fun," Felix admitted, "... but thinking about it, that might be against the point."

"I agree," Sylvain replied. "Though the honest approach might not come naturally to me."

“I see,” Felix replied. “Well... take your time. I'm in no rush to do this. This is your show.”

"Heh," Sylvain chuckled. "Are you sure? You might run out of things to do with your hands if it takes me too long to speak." Felix said nothing to that. Sylvain seemed to be gathering his courage, and he would not help or hinder that. He gave the man ample time to collect his thoughts, busying himself by polishing an actual sword. "S-So, uh... you do it too," Sylvain finally began. Felix glanced up at him and nodded. "How do you do it?" Sylvain wondered. "Do you do anything interesting? Heh."

"Nothing too complex," Felix replied. "I rub myself until I'm finished. Then I clean up."

“O-Oh.” Sylvain gaped at Felix and blushed like a signal fire. “Gods, Felix. Wow. That was... really honest.”

“You wanted honesty,” Felix replied, shrugging.

“I wanted myself to be honest,” Sylvain corrected him. “I wasn't prepared for you to be even more honest. Gods! I suppose that was never your problem.”

“Different strokes, I guess,” Felix said lamely. “Now it's your turn.”

“My turn?”

“You have to say something personal or I'm going to feel cheated. How do you do it?”

“Nothing too complex for me either,” Sylvain admitted. “I guess... fantasy plays a pretty big role for me in my private time. Rubbing myself while thinking about different erotic scenarios.”

“What kind of erotic scenarios?”

“Mostly women,” Sylvain explained. “Which is hardly surprising, but you asked and that's the answer. Sometimes I think about myself getting with women. Sometimes I think about women getting with other women. Sometimes I think about women getting with other women who are also getting with me. Gotta admit, that one was pretty big for me back in the day.”

Felix smirked. “I was right to call you insatiable, that time. Woman on woman? That's greedy enough, but with you in the middle? Gods... now there's a fine thought.”

“I know, right?” Sylvain grinned broadly. “I was never able to pull that off without one or both of the women getting crazy jealous. I suppose that one fantasy will have to remain a fantasy.”

“Keep the faith,” Felix replied. “Just because you haven't met a female couple who would be willing to share a man between them doesn't mean that you never will. Such people do exist. You just have to find them.”

“Believe me, I've been trying,” Sylvain chuckled. “But we're getting a little off topic. We were supposed to ask each other for tips and tricks. You said that you rub yourself until you finish. How do you rub yourself? What all do you rub?”

“Obviously, I rub my dick.”

“Yeah, obviously. Be serious, Felix.”

“I'm trying to be serious,” Felix replied, shrugging. “I'm just not sure what you want from this, or how to answer all of your questions.” He stopped polishing the sword and regarded his own reflection in the blade. “I suppose... the head gets a lot of attention in the beginning. That part was always kind of sensitive so it helps to get me going.”

“Yeah,” Sylvain nodded. “Mine is pretty sensitive, too.”

“Once it gets hard... the shaft gets more attention. I usually start brushing the head with my thumb on the upstroke. That feels pretty nice.”

“Do you play with your balls?”

“A little. They always start to pull up for some reason when I get going, so I pull them back down. I have no idea why but it feels nice, so that helps.”

“How much of your clothes do you take off? Do you ever get totally naked and go at it?”

“Rarely. Not unless I had some reason to be naked in the first place... like a trip to the bathhouse or something.”

“The bathhouse? Really?”

“Once, yeah. I had the bath to myself, so I took the chance. I didn't spend in the bath or anything if that's your worry. I'm not rude.”

“I usually get the pants off,” Sylvain replied. “I used to just pull it out and go to town... but it was so much more freeing to just drop trou entirely. You can move the way you want without anything getting in the way.”

“There are schools of combat training that advocate less clothing,” Felix replied. “It's supposed to facilitate free movement. Ashe would know more about it than me. Him and Petra. But there is merit to that line of thinking.”

“You said that you rarely ever take your clothes off,” Sylvain observed. “I guess that means you're all business about it? Do you ever just spend a day with yourself and your own hands?”

“Of course not,” Felix replied. “That would be a little too self-indulgent for my taste. I told you before. I get a little worked up from time to time because of my training and I use all this to relieve the pressure.”

“You should give it a try all the same,” Sylvain insisted. “Just... spend a day, or a night even, totally in the pursuit of pleasure. You might find it beneficial to just focus on yourself for a time. You could even teach yourself some interesting new tricks.”

“I suppose it works that way for you.”

“It's a skill just like any other,” Sylvain insisted. “You can train yourself and make it better, or more effective. Then you can train your heart out without getting all distracted again.”

“Fine. I promise to give it some thought.”

“Hey, uh, Felix?” Sylvain had come over all hesitant again. “You would tell me straight up if talking about this was bothering you... right?”

“You mean if talking so frankly about masturbation was getting me worked up?” Felix wondered. “Yeah, Sylvain. It has. I figured it was inevitable if we talked about this at length, so it doesn't bother me.”

“Dang.” Sylvain glanced downward unconsciously, but Felix wasn't that far gone. His eyes darted back up when he noticed Felix looking at him. “That's really not ideal, huh? Sorry about that.”

“It doesn't bother me,” Felix insisted. “I've always been a little quick on the draw in that regard. Heavy exercise and training does that to a man, like you said. I don't have to act on it. I can just be hard for a while.”

“You don't have to act on it yet,” Sylvain pointed out slyly. “You can always take care of business after I leave.”

“That's not the kind of thing that I would chase you out of my room for,” Felix replied. “If you can be cool about knowing, then I can be cool about you staying.”

“Right. You can just... be hard for a while.”

Felix nodded. “So tell me something about what you do, Sylvain. You made me describe my technique in full detail. So tell me yours. How do you rub yourself? What all do you rub?”

“Rub it in, will ya?” Sylvain pouted. “How do I do it... I guess I tend to go for the balls a lot first.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah, sort of like... making a tight ring with my thumb and forefinger around the balls and the shaft, and then messing around with myself. That gets me hard pretty quick.”

“Sounds like it would.”

“I sort of... work from the base upwards,” Sylvain continued. “Stroking it like I'm pushing it up towards the head. That really gets the blood flowing. The head is always hard like a stone even before the shaft can stand up on its own.”

“That sounds more like restricting the blood flow than encouraging it. My father once told me about these rings that men can wear. Rings that restrict the blood flow to increase staying power and make your dick harder.”

“Cock rings,” Sylvain replied. “I've heard of them. And apparently, Roderigue has too. Go figure.”

“Not a word,” Felix warned. “Is there anything else that you like to do?”

“Yeah, actually. When I get hard, I like to take my cock by the base and kind of slap it against my palm.”

“What in the Hells do you do that for?”

“Because it feels nice? They're just little slaps, Felix. Little shocks. Nothing too serious.”

“I doubt you could make yourself spend that way.”

“True. That requires a more direct approach. I do it with both hands, stroking the shaft and brushing the head until I spill.”

“Right. I need a heavy focus on the head if I want to spend in somebody's hands. Sometimes my hands will just be stimulating the head directly when I spend.”

“Stimulating it how?”

“I form a tight ring with my thumb, forefinger, and middle finger. It's more focused than a full-palm grip, and you can increase the pressure as you like without completely throttling your cock. I rub it directly with firm, tight strokes.”

“That is a heavy focus. Sounds intense.”

“Sometimes.”


	4. Chapter 4

Sylvain was actually perfectly satisfied with everything they had talked about. Following the conversation in Felix's room the two returned to trolling the taverns every week on their free day. Sometimes Ingrid would appear to accompany them. Caspar was always welcome on the tavern crawl... though he did get them kicked out of taverns from time to time. Dorothea had even put in an appearance or two... though drinking with her was like drinking with a lit fuse. There was only so much they could do out there before someone recognized the songstress and their only night out that week was effectively cancelled.

Sylvain had no idea that Felix had continued practicing the tricks and techniques they had talked about that day. He had no idea that his insistence on the matter had planted the bug in Felix's ear, causing him to dwell on the specifics with such ardor normally reserved for the specifics of the sword. He knew nothing more of the man's personal habits until Felix approached him one afternoon as he was just about to leave the dining hall.

"Sylvain. Can we talk somewhere in private?"

"Sure," Sylvain said slowly. Ingrid was there at the table with Ashe and Mercedes and they were having a lively discussion about the particulars of certain bow techniques. "We can head to my room if we have to. What, um, is this about?"

"It must be important if it has to take place in private," Ingrid teased.

"Not really," Felix said snidely. "I wanted to talk to Sylvain about his sword handling techniques."

Sylvain choked. He had not expected that.

"You need help with a sword?" Ingrid brightened. "Since when? And from Sylvain?"

"I said I wanted to talk about his techniques," Felix corrected. "Were you even listening?"

"That is quite a surprise," Mercedes commented. "I never expected Felix to admit that he doesn't know everything about the sword, let alone to ask for help from one of us."

"Felix must finally recognize his battle strength," Ashe supposed. He was grinning broadly, and he clapped Sylvain on the back. "That is quite the honor, Sylvain! Our friendly neighborhood philanderer has come a long way!"

"F-Felix? I-Is this the kind of thing that Ashe and Ingrid can get in on?" Sylvain wondered delicately. "Or are you talking about-"

"Figure that out on your own," Felix snapped. "Ashe and Ingrid are not invited to this conversation. Now are you going to quit playing the fool and come with me? I have something that I want to talk to you about." Felix grabbed Sylvain by the wrist and practically dragged him out of the dining hall.

Ingrid and Ashe were still chuckling by the time the door swung closed. "I take it from your reaction that you worked out my little code," Felix said quietly. "I have something that I want to talk to you about and, yes, it has to be you. It won't take long. You can have your hand back. I take it I don't have to drag you there?"

Sylvain took his hand back from Felix and massaged his wrist. "You didn't have to drag me out of there in the first place. You sure you want to do this? You have from here until my room to change your mind."

"Like you even need to ask at this point."

"Okay, okay..."


	5. Chapter 5

"So what exactly did you want to talk to me about?" Sylvain wondered delicately.

He felt a lot better about talking now that they were behind closed doors. He had not expected to have to talk to Felix about this again but he was more or less prepared for whatever the man had in mind. Felix had taken off his coat and sword belt so Sylvain figured that it was probably going to be a long conversation. Yet... Felix had assured him that the conversation would not be a long one. So what was that all about?

"You might as well get comfortable," Felix told him. "I tried that technique you told me about before."

"O-Okay..."

"I got some decent results but I have some questions on how to apply it."

"There's not much more that I can tell you," Sylvain replied. He tried to keep his mind clean but the image of Felix touching himself came to him unbidden. "This is all academic anyway. You understood the technique enough to reproduce it on your own time. The rest is all about putting it to use in a way that works for you. Trying things out and seeing what works."

"Did you try any of mine?" Felix wondered.

"S-Sure," Sylvain lied.

"How did that work out for you?" Felix insisted. "Did you manage to spend?"

Sylvain paused. He already regretted the first lie enough that he didn't have it in himself to spin another. "I guess it's a bit much to just jump right in to something new and expect there to be fireworks."

Felix nodded. "I was thinking the same."

"You could stick with it," Sylvain suggested. "Make it your own, or..."

"Or?"

"You can fall back on the tried and true," Sylvain finished lamely. "It's just orgasms, after all. Those are free and easy, and they come in the palm of your hand."

"Phrasing."

Sylvain snorted. "Yeah, okay, but you understand what I mean. You can't really go wrong with this stuff. You can do it good or you can do it better. Either way it's good enough."

Felix shook his head. "I have no intention of settling for good enough, Sylvain. Neither should you."

"Yeah, but..." Sylvain began.

Felix ignored him. "I actually had my own idea about that. It's the real reason that I wanted to talk to you in private. Instead of talking around in circles I was thinking we could do something a little more practical and get to the heart of the matter that way. You already know how that technique works because you put it to use on yourself and you gave yourself some good relief. Same with me and mine. So I was thinking that I could just show you what I learned and you could tell me right away what works and how it can be improved."

Sylvain blinked. "How exactly are you planning to show me what you learned?"

Felix rolled his eyes. "Are you dense? How else?" He looked at Sylvain questioningly. "You had better be all right with this, Sylvain. I am not doing this to you against your will. What do you think?"

Sylvain blushed hard. He thought... what did he think? He was unquestioningly mortified by the suggestion but there was an unexpected curiosity mixed in with it too. He thought about it and realized that the curiosity made sense. He had started this conversation with Felix because he was curious about how other men entertained themselves in private. When else would he get another chance like this?

"Are you totally sure about this?" Sylvain wondered delicately. "I mean... if you honestly think it would help..."

"I do," Felix replied. He stood up from the bed and unbuckled his belt - he was faced away from Sylvain. "Just say 'no' whenever you want and I'll put my clothes back on," He said tersely. "I'm not forcing you into something."

"I'll be clear," Sylvain promised. Felix removed the belt completely and set it on the pile with his other things. He opened the button on his trousers and rustled them down a little around his ass. Sylvain could not see any of that due to the length of his undershirt.

Felix took a deep breath as though he was steeling himself and turned around. He had his smallclothes tucked under his privates so that Sylvain could see everything. Sylvain swallowed. He hadn't expected to feel anything at the sight of them but that curiosity from before had suddenly flared. Felix got it hard for him and demonstrated the technique that Sylvain had told him about.

"It looks about right," Sylvain said quietly.

"Are you sure?" Felix insisted. "I need you to pay attention."

"I can only tell so much by look at you, um, doing that," Sylvain said lamely. He still felt like he had no idea how to cope with the situation. He wanted Felix to have what he needed. He felt like doing that for Felix just might tell him what he needed for himself. "It looks right. The rest is seriously just about how it feels for you personally. If it feels nice then it can't be a bad thing no matter what your technique. Does it at least feel nice?"

"It does," Felix admitted. "You could always show me on yours."

Sylvain suddenly realized that 'curiosity' was the wrong word for what he was feeling.

"Is it too much for you?" Felix wondered.

Sylvain snorted. "If you're serious about doing that? If you're okay with taking it this far? Gods above... maybe I should just go ahead and take it out for you."

"Do you need to take your pants off or something?" Felix wondered. "You mentioned before that you prefer having less clothes on so you can move how you want to."

"I do prefer that," Sylvain admitted, "... but I don't want to be the only one. So either I stay dressed, or-"

"I can take my clothes off," Felix replied.

"Heh." Sylvain chuckled weakly. They were really doing this. Felix was serious. He was looking at Sylvain a little expectantly. He gave a satisfied nod when Sylvain took his trousers down, and he looked at Sylvain's cock with dry interest. Sylvain was just a little bit bigger than Felix - which was just about the only way that Sylvain had ever felt more manly. They did away with the rest of their clothes and once the both of them were naked they sat next to each other on the bed.

"So is that how you do it on your own?" Felix asked, watching Sylvain stroke himself with obvious interest.

"Y-Yeah," Sylvain said tightly. He was doing what he normally did exactly as he had described it to Felix. He had formed a tight ring with his thumb and forefinger and he was using that to stroke upwards from the base. He made sure to tease the head to get the fluid flowing, making his strokes just that little bit smoother.

"It seems rougher than you made it out to be," Felix observed.

"You think so?" Sylvain wondered. "Huh. Maybe I just like it that way."

"Heh." Felix shook his head - the ghost of a smile touched his lips. "Maybe you're not alone there." He had his cock gripped in his right hand and he was grinding his left palm against the head in little circles. He was leaking almost as much as Sylvain was without even trying, so his motions were noisy and lewd.

"Your thing? With focusing on the head? It's feeling pretty good," Sylvain said pleasantly. He performed the trick a few more times since he knew that Felix would be watching. "It was way too intense the first time I ever tried to do something like that. It helped to see you doing it. It feels... nice. Focused. Like I could really get off that way."

"Of course," Felix replied. "It wouldn't be much of a technique if it couldn't at least get you off."

"Speaking of getting off," Sylvain added. "We've been doing this for a while. How do you want to approach the, uh... you know?"

"We came this far," Felix said slowly. "It seems a waste not to finish up."

"You want me to finish?" Sylvain wondered.

"That's not..." Felix clicked his teeth. "I didn't say it like that. Just... show me how you do it like I asked you to and you can do whatever you want about the finish. I'll follow your lead, huh? How about that."

"Right..." Sylvain rolled his eyes. "Because this is just about the technique."

"Is it not?" Felix wondered.

"It could also be about the pleasure of the thing," Sylvain replied.

"I'm not..." Felix paused. "This isn't about... I don't do it for fun or anything. This is about relief. I told you that."

"You did tell me that," Sylvain agreed, "... but isn't it true that greater pleasure can provide you with greater relief? There are so many ways to wring pleasure out of a body that don't have anything to do with handling your sword. I could teach you."

"What ways are those?"

"Like... your chest," Sylvain replied. He took his free hand to his right nipple, pinching and rolling it while he continued to stroke. It produced some lovely feelings, but Sylvain's nipples had never been very sensitive.

"Even I know about the nipples," Felix replied, scoffing. "Why don't you tell me something interesting? Something that would make me spend."

"Well, then..." Sylvain felt a bad idea brewing. It was something that he had been thinking about doing for a while now but he hadn't wanted to initiate it because of the risks involved. He thought that... perhaps in this situation it might be all right. "What about the neck?" He wondered.

Felix blanched. "Neck. What are you talking about-?"

"Hold still for a moment and see," Sylvain told him. He got up on the bed and got close to Felix, who froze. His hand stopped moving on his cock. Sylvain could tell that Felix must have known something of what he had in mind but he made no move to get away. Sylvain accepted the risk of rejection and decided to do something crazy.

"S-Sylvain, what the Hells are you-" Felix cut himself off as Sylvain's lips ghosted the side of his neck, blowing gently. He found his point of attack and sucked. Felix reacted. Not negatively or positively. His reaction was a purely physical one that showed that his body at the very least was interested in what Sylvain had to offer. He actually leaned his head away to give Sylvain better access to his neck. His hand twitched on his cock, and reluctantly... started to move again. Sylvain was just amazed that Felix never hit him. He could not believe his luck.

Excitement. That was the word for what Sylvain had been feeling.

"T-There we go," Sylvain finished, pulling away from Felix briefly. "The neck."


	6. Chapter 6

"What in all the Hells are you trying to pull?" Felix asked quietly. "That kind of thing... that was over the line."

Sylvain chuckled weakly. He knew that he was probably about to be rejected but at this point he was just happy to hear the bastard speak. "Says the man with his cock out to the, um, other man with his cock out. Can we stop ignoring the implications? I kind of want you, Felix. I like you. I thought you liked it when I kissed your neck like that."

"I thought that you..." Felix paused. He seemed to reconsider Sylvain somehow. "I guess I thought a lot of things."

"What are you thinking now?"

"I... did like it," Felix said slowly. "When you kissed my neck."

"Y-Yeah?" Sylvain sat forward a little. "Do you want me to do it again?"

"Yeah. I... want that," Felix replied. "If that's what's on offer, then... yeah. I'll, uh, think seriously about the other stuff you said. That's all I can really say right now. Can you live with that?"

"It's more than I could ask for," Sylvain said immediately. "Honestly... I think I just want to suck on your neck again."

"You can do that," Felix said quietly. "Come and sit a little closer to me if you want. Stop being so reticent. Get comfortable."

"You're being so nice to me," Sylvain teased. He got closer, got comfortable, and started to kiss Felix's neck again. Felix let him do it without comment and after a while his hand started moving on his cock. Sylvain touched himself with his free hand while his mouth was busy. The tip of his cock kept bumping Felix's elbow as he stroked himself. Sylvain concentrated on finding Felix's sensitive spots.

One thing Sylvain had noticed about hard physical training was that sore muscles made for good sensitive spots. Felix had plenty.

"Hah..." Felix moaned softly before he could stop himself.

Sylvain chuckled. "Is that spot getting you all worked up?"

"In your dreams," Felix said tightly. "You couldn't even make me hard if you tried."

"That sounds like a challenge," Sylvain teased.

"H-aahn..." Felix moaned this time in earnest. That was good. He was getting over the need to hide his reactions. Sylvain decided to try to do the same. He made noises when he wanted to.

Sylvain wished that he had a little more agency in this situation. He wanted to kiss that mouth. He wanted to touch Felix properly... but he resolutely held himself back. Felix had not given him permission to do anything more than this. His little stunt from before was more than enough. Felix knew his intentions now. Sylvain wanted what Felix wanted. He would respect what Felix decided.

"Get a little closer to me," Felix murmured.

"On the bed?" Sylvain wondered. "There's not a lot of room to move already..."

"No," Felix groaned. "Closer to spending."

Sylvain choked. "I'll see what I can do..."

Felix was doing his thing where he focused his entire grip on the head of his cock. He must have really been close since it seemed he was going in for the kill. Sylvain started to stroke his entire cock from tip to base as he earnestly tried to reach orgasm. Felix groaned and ground up against his own palm. The fingers of his free hand knotted in the bedspread.

"Are you close?" Sylvain wondered.

"Y-Yeah... I think I am."

"Here you are." Sylvain reached over to the bedside table and took out a small hand towel. "If you're gonna spill, do it on your stomach or something. Then you can use this to clean up."

"Heh." Felix chuckled tightly as his neck muscles tightened. "This... is just the thing I needed..."

"Let it out," Sylvain urged him. "Let it all out. I'm right here with you."

"F-Fuck, Sylvain..." Felix's hand sped up. His strokes became longer and firmer as he breached the edge of his orgasm. "F-Fuck! I can't keep... I'm gonna... I'm gonna...!"

"Do it. I've got you."

"Hnnh... A-Ah!"

Sylvain went with Felix as he lowered himself down onto the bed. His half-lidded eyes were fixed on his own cock as a small fountain of spend painted his abdomen. Felix slowed almost to stopping as the orgasm wracked him, and then he rubbed himself viciously through to the end of his aftershocks. Sylvain felt like his whole being was heightened. Watching Felix spend was something else. Doing it on the edge of his own orgasm was nothing short of incredible.

Felix turned to watch him as Sylvain pulled away, rolling onto his back so he could spend on his own stomach in turn. He finally let it fly with Felix watching, spending himself with such force that the droplets actually tagged him on the chin.

Sylvain fell back with a heavy sigh. Felix was rubbing his shoulder and making little interested noises as he came down from the high. Sylvain turned and looked at him, thick and heavy in the post-orgasm haze. He could not help but smile at the sight of his best friend - and possible new lover - watching him with something like genuine earnest affection.

He could only hope that things had gone so smoothly. He opened his mouth to speak...

"I can't believe you actually tagged yourself on the chin," Felix chuckled. "You must have been pent up."

"I mean... kinda?" Sylvain admitted. "But I think it was more the company that did me in."


	7. Chapter 7

Felix often wondered how such a strange situation had come to pass. He had been seeing Sylvain in this capacity for a number of weeks. He was in a seated position on the edge of the bed in his own room at Garreg Mach. He was busy fingering himself with his left hand - Sylvain had shown him how - while stroking himself with his right. Sylvain was up on the bed and bent over Felix as he sucked his neck, stroking his own cock while he did so. Felix was beyond wondering what it was that Sylvain got out of any of this. He honestly seemed to enjoy what they did for its own sake. He never asked for any romantic commitments or reciprocation of sexual gratification. He seemed perfectly contented with whatever Felix had offered him and no more.

"You don't have to keep doing this, you know," Felix told him for the third time since they began that night.

"Of course I do," Sylvain replied. "You're the one who told me that you get pent up from all the training that you do. You need someone like me on hand to help you blow off some steam. What would happen if you took that tension with you into battle? You'd be skewered on an Agarthan lance by the end of next holy day."

"Heh." Felix gritted his teeth as his muscles tightened. He was a lot closer to spending than he thought. "Someone... like you?"

Sylvain nodded. "Yeah, Felix. Someone like me. Someone who enjoys this at least as much as you do."

"And here I thought you were all about the women," Felix said accusingly.

"I am," Sylvain replied. "Men and women. I know that can be confusing for some folks, but it's honestly who I am at heart."

"I suppose I have no call to complain," Felix replied. "You really know how to handle a sword."

Sylvain snorted. "Is that seriously what we're calling this?"

"Do you have a better name?" Felix wondered. "At least this way it's easy to bring it up in public. Just take the compliment and fucking touch me already."

"You did do me a few times," Sylvain replied. "Thanks for that, by the way. There was no need for you to-"

"Oh, please," Felix rolled his eyes. "You've done a lot for me, Sylvain. It's not like I don't know how to be grateful."

"I never said you didn't," Sylvain replied, chuckling. He dove back down onto Felix's neck and continued for a little while longer. His cock kept bumping against Felix's elbow, leaving little smears of fluid on the skin. "You know..." Sylvain said suddenly. "I could probably make this a heck of a lot better for the both of us."

"How so?" Felix wondered cautiously.

"You could let me do that for you," Sylvain said brightly, indicating Felix's right hand.

"O-Oh?" Felix felt a momentary stab of panic. For one mad instant he thought that Sylvain was offering to finger him... but he was gesturing to the wrong hand. It still felt like a big step, though.

"How about it?" Sylvain wondered anxiously.

"I don't want to ask you to do that," Felix said carefully.

"You could always just let me 'do what I want' again," Sylvain offered. "That always worked out so well for me in the past. It's like carte blanche."

"D-Do what you want, then."

"Surely will," Sylvain replied. His free hand sought Felix's crotch... and now Felix was getting his cock rubbed by Sylvain. It wasn't nearly as momentous an occasion as Felix had thought it might be. One moment he was rubbing himself and the next he was letting Sylvain do it. He decided to just go with the flow.

"H-Hey, uh..." Felix began, still unsure of how to vocalize what he was thinking. He wanted something to do with his hands. Sylvain was taking charge of everything because he was excited. There was no malice in that desire... but it meant that Felix had no agency. He didn't like that at all... but he had no idea how to put that particular displeasure into words without frightening Sylvain or making Sylvain think he did not want this. He did. "You want to let me do that for you," Felix wondered, gesturing to Sylvain's cock.

"Nah," Sylvain shook his head. "This all is good enough for me."

"I won't ever ask you to settle for good enough," Felix promised. "Just let me fucking touch you already."

Sylvain blushed brightly. "I-If you insist. Heh."

Felix had a hand free now that Sylvain was rubbing him. He kept on fingering himself with his left hand and sought Sylvain's cock with his right. It was not overly large or particularly aesthetically pleasing... but Felix supposed it would get the job done. Sylvain certainly seemed to enjoy what Felix was doing... and he turned that enjoyment into pure vigor on Felix's cock. His strokes became form and strong to the point where Felix felt like he was being carried along by them. He leaned in to the kissing like he was holding on to something precious.

That was what was so confusing about this - confusing? Perhaps that wasn't the right word. Sylvain appreciated the Hell out of everything that Felix did for him but he never fucking asked for anything in return. Felix felt like something was missing but he had no idea what that really was.

"H-Hey," Felix said suddenly. "You don't have to keep kissing my neck."

Sylvain stopped. "Is that... because you don't like it? Do you want me to stop?"

"No," Felix demurred. "I was just thinking that it might be better for the both of us if you had a more responsive partner. Someone who doesn't just sit on the bed like a lump and let you do all the work."

"Oh." Sylvain blinked. "Okay... so are you asking me to-?"

"Stop pretending that you don't know exactly what I meant by that," Felix snapped.

"I don't," Sylvain insisted. "Is it something that's hard to say? You could always just show me. Give me a demonstration. I won't get mad."

Felix stopped what he was doing to scowl at Sylvain but it was pointless. He felt like Sylvain had trapped him... but it was hard to argue when he was naked. He still had Sylvain's pre-ejaculate on his hands. He decided to give Sylvain what he wanted. He would have liked to say that he went in for the kill immediately... but he was more hesitant than he would have liked. Sylvain had ample time to push him away or react in the negative but he did not. He saw what was coming and he was excited for it.

Felix kissed Sylvain. Their lips met in the space between them and they kissed, deeply, for a long time. It was a revelation to Felix. He had kissed people before... mostly during drunken accidents or mistakes with girls that he would up not liking as much as he thought he had. He could already tell that he would enjoy doing this with Sylvain. He wanted to keep doing it for as long and as often as Sylvain would let him. Sylvain was good with his tongue.

Already what they were doing required a change in position. Sylvain helped ease Felix down onto the bed and straddled his hips. Felix was drawn to the feeling of strong cavalier muscle mounting his lower body. He had never had a chance to really feel the power in those muscles before - because Sylvain's main strength was in riding, not swordplay. Sylvain could probably crush him with those thighs. Felix tried not to read too much into that.

"I-Is this too much for you?" Sylvain breathed.

"It's fine," Felix replied. "Your, uh, hips are made for riding."

"Or maybe the riding makes the hips," Sylvain supposed. "Heh. You'd best be careful, Felix. Saying things like that - all naked and hard underneath me. You're giving me the most devilish ideas."

"Ideas are fine," Felix replied. "Just... fucking touch me already."

"Only if you do the same," Sylvain teased.

Felix rolled his eyes. He was too impatient for teasing so he took the initiative and grabbed Sylvain's cock. He also grabbed himself. Since they were too close together to stroke them one at a time Felix mashed them together in the same grip and stroked them both. Sylvain let out a keening sigh and leaned forward to kiss Felix on the mouth again. Felix lost his grip on Sylvain and he let out a frustrated sound.

"Heh." Sylvain frowned. "I'm too tall for this."

"It's a bit awkward," Felix admitted. "If you kiss me like that, then I can't grab you the way that I want to."

"I guess it's make your mind up time," Sylvain supposed. "Do you want to kiss me on the lips or do you want to rub up on my cock like you did just now? Or do you want to switch places? If you get on top, we could probably kiss and rub our cocks together at the same time."

"Kiss me," Felix decided. "I'll rub mine. You do what you want with yours."

"As you wish," Sylvain cooed. He dove back down on Felix and kissed him energetically. He perched on Felix's stomach and braced himself with both hands. He kissed... he touched himself... but mostly he let his cock rub up on Felix's stomach. Felix stroked and fingered himself while Sylvain worked, feeling slightly crowded but aroused enough that it wasn't really an issue.

"This is starting to drive me crazy," Sylvain said suddenly.

"Are you about to-?" Felix asked, surprised.

"No, no," Sylvain demurred. "It's not that. It's just that your dick keeps on bumping my ass, and I'm getting all..."

Felix wasn't sure he understood. "Is it bothering you?"

Sylvain laughed. "It's bothering me in a good way, Felix."

"Oh."

"I'm not pressuring you," Sylvain said hastily. "Not on purpose, anyway. You think we can change positions? You want to take a turn on top?"

Felix didn't want to take a turn on top. "How about you, uh..."

"Yes?"

"You do yourself with your fingers," Felix pointed out. "Y-You've been with guys."

"Yes to both."

"You ever want something a little bigger up there?"

"F-Felix?" Sylvain blushed hard. He didn't seem to be embarrassed at all. "W-Would that be okay? I'm game if you are."

"I'm offering," Felix replied. "I think it's safe to say that I'm game."

"I-I just really want you to be sure," Sylvain stammered. "Ooh, Gods. I am really going to enjoy this. D-Do you want to change positions or anything?"

"I'm liking this," Felix admitted. "Can you do it from there?"

"I want to finger myself first so I can be ready for you," Sylvain explained. "Do you want me to do that, or...?"

"Do it," Felix told him. "Finger yourself."

Sylvain took his hand between his legs and fingered himself from the front. He wanted to keep kissing Felix while he worked, and Felix let him. After he was able to get three fingers inside he pulled away from Felix and allowed Felix to line himself up. Felix wanted to get it in there himself but he was concerned about hurting Sylvain, so he let Sylvain lower himself slowly.

Felix took long, slow breaths as he got accustomed to the feeling of Sylvain's insides. Sylvain was in better shape than he was but he was hardly unaffected. His cheeks were warm and he was sweating a little but he smiled at Felix with the biggest smile his face could manage. He was completely unfazed by what they were doing and it astonished Felix. He didn't think he could be so calm if it was him.

Sylvain took Felix to the hilt once before he started to move. He was unable to kiss Felix while he was on top so he focused on the sensations in his lower body. Felix was astonished. He hadn't expected a man to be so tight on the inside. He had no idea how long he would be able to last. Sylvain was practically quivering with arousal. Felix cupped Sylvain's ass and bounced him. Sylvain gave a keening moan as his flesh eagerly parted. Felix felt a fresh flush of warmth rush through him and settle in his crotch. He was quivering now, too.

"F-Felix..." Sylvain groaned. "I need more. I need it... harder."

Felix groaned with consternation and more than a little bit of vicious satisfaction It was about time that Sylvain asked for something directly... but at the same time, Felix had no faith that he could follow through on what Sylvain was asking. His reticence up to that point had been founded on a desire to avoid hurting Sylvain... but Sylvain was not so easily hurt. He was a fighter as much as any other. He would not be doing any of this if he had not chosen it.

His groaning invitation was exactly what Felix had needed to hear. His fingers settled into Sylvain's thighs and he thrust-

Sylvain stopped breathing. Felix withdrew for a moment to get into a better position and then he thrust until he heard the sound of flesh smacking flesh. Sylvain actually started to drool. His eyes misted and ran. He withstood Felix for a mere handful of thrusts and then he broke. Felix was hitting all of the right places inside him... without even really knowing what those places were. Sylvain's hips stuttered. His head went back and he came.

"Keep it up! K-Keep going as long as you c-can... oh, gods..."

Felix was nearly at his limits. He rutted into Sylvain with enough force to bruise. Sylvain gasped and groaned as his muscles strained. His knuckles whitened as his fingers knotted in the bedspread. Felix stopped resisting. His hips pumped once... twice... four times and then he came. Sylvain was cursing and groaning as Felix pumped his hips up.

"Hah!" Sylvain wheezed. "It's all right now, Felix... you can stop fucking me..."

Felix collapsed with a weary groan.


	8. Chapter 8

It was hard to keep pretending that things had not taken a turn for the serious between Felix and Sylvain. Sylvain still did not ask for any kind of relationship commitment and Felix did not truly want him to. He had no compunctions or complaints about the idea but he did not think that he was ready to look at things in those terms just yet. Sylvain was more or less silent on that front anyway. As long as he remained silent... Felix could simply follow the pack and avoid the issue entirely.

They were not the most loving couple. They didn't treat each other any differently over the course of the day-to-day. They still went on their tavern crawl each holy day with the others from the Monastery. They still got blind-drunk and kissed girls. They were briefly concerned that the others might notice that something had shifted between them... but it seemed they had nothing to worry about. Ingrid had noticed almost immediately... but the others were functionally clueless. That was just as well. Either they were completely guileless, and thus they noticed nothing, or they had far too much guile for their own good, and they were too wrapped up in their own problems to tell.

If there was one thing that had changed - carrying over to their public interactions - it was the code phrase by which they referred to their private activities.

Sylvain had stopped asking about Felix's "sword handling" a long time ago. Now, when he wanted a private interlude, he would ask to "sheathe the sword", which was almost too crass for Felix to handle initially.

"H-Hey, uh, Felix?" Sylvain asked him one afternoon when they were training in the Knight's Quarters. "Do you maybe, uh, want to sheathe the sword?"

Felix paused. He looked around. Alois and Shamir were taking the newest recruits through their paces some distance away. "Right now?"

"Not right this instant, obviously. But in a minute."

"Sure thing."

Felix and Sylvain stole away to the upper level of the Knight's Quarters - in the lounge, where nobody ever seemed to venture. They watched the trainee knights pummel out their aggression on the training dummies... and then they proceeded to work out some of their own aggression on each other. Sylvain braced his hands against a book shelf and Felix took him from behind. They exposed just enough flesh to get the job done.

Alois later commented on Sylvain's limp, sharing all manner of stories with Felix about how the upper level was a popular hook-up spot when Alois was a squire in the Knights of Seiros. Felix decided not to mention that to Sylvain.


	9. Chapter 9

Ingrid Brandl Galatea was a woman who knew too much - far too much for her own good.

She would not stop asking questions. She was dogged in her pursuit of the truth. Sylvain honestly wondered if it was a revenge thing for her - that would have made sense. He had been pushing her buttons on the regular since they were kids, so it would have made sense if she had finally snapped.

The truth was far more horrible than Sylvain could have imagined. Ingrid just liked the idea of men having sex. She really liked it. Worse, she wanted details. Details!

"So? How are things in paradise?" Ingrid asked him sweetly one morning as they had breakfast together in the dining hall.

"Paradise?" Sylvain wondered idly, feigning disinterest. He had his nose buried in a coffee and an old text on the Sreng Region but he knew in an instant what Ingrid was really after. Felix was over on the other side of the dining hall. Sylvain tried to discreetly make eye contact and request assistance but Felix was deliberately avoiding his gaze for some reason. He was on his own for now.

Ingrid followed his gaze and spotted Felix. "I notice that you skipped out on the tavern crawl again last night," she observed. "Yet for some reason you have a slight limp, and you're drinking black coffee instead of hitting on girls like you usually do?"

"I had sword practice," Sylvain insisted. "You can never stay too far ahead of the enemy."

"You are way too worn out for that," Ingrid replied. "You would need to seriously rethink your training regimen if that was true. What about those unusual bruises on your neck?"

"I was working on a difficult parry pose and I accidentally clipped myself," Sylvain replied, lying through his teeth. _I thought I told Felix not to give me any marks! ... or do I even have marks? Gah! She's messing with me!_

"I notice that Felix also had sword practice last night."

Sylvain rolled his eyes. "Well, yeah. He's Felix. When is he not practicing the sword?"

Ingrid pinked a little. She had walked right into that one. "So the two of you had sword practice together, then? How interesting. I'm sure that he taught you some useful tricks."

"Actually... I think I was the one teaching him all my tricks," Sylvain said smugly. That much was sincere, as Sylvain was honestly proud of how insatiable Felix had become and considered it a direct result of his influence.

"You? I seriously doubt that."

Sylvain choked on his coffee. "W-What? Why?"

"If we're talking about actual swords, that is. Why? What were you talking about?"

"O-Of course we're talking about actual swords. What other kind of swords are there? Fake ones?"

"He doesn't have a fake one, does he?" Ingrid asked, scandalized. "Does he use it for training? Do you?"

Sylvain pinked a little. He had walked right into that one.

"So?" Ingrid insisted. "How is his... sword handling?"

Sylvain put his book down and glared at Ingrid with his serious face. She wanted in? He could burn her ears right off with what he knew. "Innovative."

Ingrid choked. "R-Really?"

"Bordering on the avant-garde."

"Wow."

Sylvain felt himself start to blush. "There's a reason that we call him a swordmaster," he said smugly, diving back down into his book. He already regretted telling Ingrid that much... but at least she had stopped asking questions. He wanted the ground to hurry up and swallow him. "I'm sure that he earned the right through years of constant practice. Since we're totally talking about actual swords and absolutely nothing else."

Ingrid turned three shades of red before she finally settled on one. "O-Of course, Sylvain. On my honor as a knight, or something."

"... Sylvain?"

Sylvain yelped and nearly fell out of his chair. Felix was up, and standing right behind him. He was looking at Sylvain with a very peculiar expression - like he was fighting the urge to laugh. Sylvain hadn't even noticed him leave his seat. "Felix? What is it? What do you want?"

"I, uh, was actually looking to sheathe the sword, if you're up for that," Felix replied. He looked at Ingrid. "Do you have the time? Or do you want me to come back when you finish with whatever this is?"

"Sheathe the sword?" Ingrid wondered. She looked from Sylvain to Felix. "What does that mean?"

"None of your business," Felix said firmly. "Sylvain?"

"I can meet you somewhere," Sylvain said quietly. "Don't you have to be somewhere, though? I heard that you were training new recruits with Thunder Catherine."

"Catherine can manage on her own for a little while," Felix replied. "I wanted to make the time for you... unless you'd rather be doing something else? Which would be fine, of course."

"I-I know it would," Sylvain stammered. "I'll go with you, if that's all right."

"Good," Felix replied, smiling warmly. He looked sternly at Ingrid, who blushed and shied away from his gaze. He glanced around - Sylvain was vaguely aware of the fact that not many people were left in the dining hall - sauntered over to where Sylvain was sitting, and kissed him on the lips. Ingrid froze, blushing even worse. Sylvain just sat there, transfixed. He had no choice but to respond and react and _oh my good gods please is that his tongue please more_.

"Brush your damn teeth already, you idiot," Felix chided him, breaking the kiss. Sylvain watched him go out of the dining hall in a daze. Where the heck had that come from?

"H-Hey, Sylvain. By sheathing the sword is he actually talking about-?"

"Oh my gods, Ingrid. Shut up."

~~~

Sylvain was upset about what had happened with Ingrid, but Felix honestly couldn't say why. He thought it was funny. Sylvain changed his tune soon enough, once Felix was fucking him on an empty bed in the infirmary. The place was empty while Manuela was away, fighting on the front lines at Brionac with Byleth and the others.

They were almost walked in on by Seteth, who commented acidly on the smell in the room before seeming to realize something very suddenly. He made a tactical retreat from the room, and Sylvain blushed like a signal fire as he realized exactly what had just happened. There was no way that Seteth had not realized. Felix thought that he was making a fuss over nothing... but Sylvain got so dramatically upset he actually swore off sex. Felix felt even more strongly that his decision not to share what Alois had told him had been the correct one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ... I might have put a Torchwood quote in there. It was that bit about Felix's sword handling being 'innovative'.


End file.
